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Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Storage Locations: Flash Drive vs. Cloud

Normally I like to write or edit on my lunch hour, but I used my time yesterday to write this blog post instead. That's because although I remembered to bring my netbook, I forgot to bring the flash drive where I store current versions of all my important documents. (Don't worry; the flash drive was on my desk when I came home. I had removed it from my laptop but forgotten to stick it in my netbook case.) This happens every so often. Normally I find something else to work on instead; for example, I might draw up a character sketch or plot another story. This time, I wondered if it would make more sense to start keeping my working copies of documents in cloud storage. I would probably use Dropbox, which would work not just with my netbook and laptop but also with my phone. Office 365 also offers cloud storage, and I know other places to get it as well.

The main reason I work from a flash drive instead of cloud storage isn't security or privacy concerns (although those are important), but access concerns. Internet is usually available in most of the places I normally go, but not always. If we're traveling somewhere , I try to squeeze in some writing time while my husband drives. Finding wifi on the highway wouldn't work in that situation. I suppose I could use cloud storage most of the time and upload files to my flash drive right before the trip. Still, sometimes it's easier to have only one spot for your working files. (I do agree that backups should be in multiple locations for safety.)

Where do you keep your current files? For that matter, where do you keep your backups? (Formats can become obsolete very quickly.) Did you remember to back up your files recently? Feel free to discuss in the comments.

6 comments:

You need a Hot Spot on your phone - then you'll have wifi most of the time. (But not all - it's not perfect either.)Everything about the Cloud makes me wary, so I've never used it for documents. But with writing, it's more that if I am working on a first draft, I can only do that at home in front of my desktop and if I am revising, I've printed it out and need the paper to work.

I have a time machine in the house. This came in handy a couple of days ago when I accidentally replaced a file with another file's name. Going into the Time Machine helped me save all that work. Pulling it from the time machine meant using Air Drop to my phone and then emailing myself. I'm sure there is a more efficient way, but it worked!

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About Me

QA rep by day, loving wife and mom by night.
Somewhere in there I write science fiction/fantasy and indie publish it. My short story, "A
Reptile at the Reunion," was published in the Firestorm of Dragons
anthology June 2008. My indie works include the SF Catalyst Chronicles series (currently available: Lyon's Legacy, "The Mommy Clone", and Twinned Universes), the Season Avatars series (Seasons' Beginnings, with Scattered Seasons due in spring 2015) and several unrelated fantasy short stories. Lyon's Legacy, Twinned Universes, and Seasons' Beginnings are available in paper and eBook formats; my other short stories are all eBooks.

About This Blog

As a science fiction/fantasy author, I discuss topics such as science, writing science fiction/fantasy, indie-publishing, books, and authors. On a personal note, I also blog about my family and the Beatles. I usually post three times a week. A recurring topic is Science of the Week on Fridays, though sometimes it's preempted.

Although I'm not comfortable reviewing books, I am willing to host author interviews and participate in blog tours. Please e-mail me at ulbrichalmazanATsbcglobalDOTnet.

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Prequel to the Season Avatars series

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